Baldness Caused by Heredity

"Baldness is caused by multiple genetic factors"(Bryant 2).  Baldness does not necessarily follow the mothers line or anyone else's genes.

Men and women usually lose their hair as they age. Men have a pattern of baldness associated with the presence of the male hormone testosterone. Men who do not produce testosterone because of genetic abnormalities develop this pattern of baldness. Many women also develop a characteristic pattern of hair loss.
 

Usually baldness is not caused by a disease, but is genetic. Inherited or "pattern baldness" affects many more men than women. About 25% of men begin to bald by the time they are 30 years old, and about two-thirds are either bald or have a balding pattern by age 60.

On average, about 100 hairs are lost from the head every day. The average scalp contains about 100,000 hairs (blondes 140,000, brunettes 155,000 and redheads only 85,000).

Each individual hair survives for an average of 4.5 years. Usually in its 5th year, the hair falls out and is replaced within 6 months by a new one. Genetic baldness is caused by the body’s failure to produce new hairs and not by excessive hair loss.
 
"An enzyme in your body known as 5 alpha-reductase converts the hormone testosterone into another hormone known as dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Men and women with pattern hair loss have increased levels of DHT in the scalp. DHT contributes to a shortening of the growth phase and thinning of the hair. This condition begins to occur in men and women in there twenties and becomes even more common as they age" (Proguard 1).
 

Female/Male Baldness Pattern
 

Common causes